Former Federal Contractor Sentenced for Receipt of Child Pornography

 ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Polish citizen, who was employed as a federal contractor for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, was sentenced today to five years in prison for receiving images of child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, Michal Piotrowicz, 40, while living in Alexandria, used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to receive and possess over 1,000 images of child pornography, featuring the sexual exploitation of young girls. While he was under investigation, Piotrowicz was intercepted and arrested at Dulles International Airport as he attempted to leave the country.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay V. Prabhu and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa L. Chong prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-211.